


Pitt, The Lightspeed Runningback

by 04272005



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27255073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/04272005/pseuds/04272005
Summary: Sena and Pitt switch bodies.
Relationships: Anezaki Mamori/Hiruma Youichi, Juumonji Kazuki/Kobayakawa Sena, Kobayakawa Sena/Shin Seijuurou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 13





	1. Your Soul

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi! I was looking at my cat weebles today, and got inspired!

Sena woke up, the bright light streaming in from his window prying his tired eyes awake. As he gets up, stretching his arms out in front of him, he notices his body feels strangely light, despite the hellish training Hiruma had put them through the day before. He stands up, then blinks once, twice, noticing the ground is quite a bit closer than usual. Shaking his head, then stretching out a paw to swipe at his eyes, he-

"HIIEEEE??" Sena screeches, or more accurately, hisses, as he stares back at a white paw, nails extending and retracting as he stares at himself. Sprinting to the bathroom, nearly bowling over his mom, he springs onto the bathroom sink, staring at himself. "Pitt?" He cries again, pawing at his face. 

"Pitt, dear, what's gotten into you?" Ms. Kobayakawa scoops him up into her arms, cooing at him as she passes by Sena's door. She pushes the door open wider, then shouts, "Sena! Up! You'll be late if you sleep much longer!" Sena wriggles out of her grasp, running to the door as a sense of dread pools in his furry little stomach. There he was, in all his glory, jaw unhinged as he yawns, turning in a circle, then curling back up in a ball.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." Sena backs up from himself, shaking his tiny cat head as all the possibilities of the day run through his mind. And there was a practice match with Oujou today, to boot! He was surely going to end today with a pound of lead shot right into him. Running to himself, he extends a paw, smacking his cheek desperately. What was he to do? Have Pitt run in his place? Smacking harder, Pitt-Sena finally wakes from his slumber. He gets to his feet, seemingly human like, then strolls out the door without dressing. Sena meows at him, grabbing onto his pants leg. "Of course he wouldn't know how to dress! He's a cat!" He chides himself, tugging as hard as he can.

"Pitt, why are you kicking up a fuss in there?" His mom calls, coming up the stairs. Sena panics as Pitt-Sena yawns, then gets on all fours and stretches his back. 

"Oh no... I'm going to get locked up into a mental hospital... Hiruma will kill me for abandoning the team at this moment too..." Sena releases Pitt-Sena, and accepts his fate. "Well, living as a cat won't be too bad. Pitt has it nice and easy..." As he tries to comfort himself with the thought of being a full time cat, Pitt-Sena rolls over onto his back and goes back to sleep. 

"Sena? I heard a thunk, are you alright?" His mom calls, rounding the corner of the staircase to see Pitt-Sena "passed out" on the floor. She quickly presses her hand to his forehead, then calls for his dad. "Sena's passed out!" She quickly picks him up by the arm and drags him back into his room. Sena stops mourning his future in the corner of his room as he watches Pitt-Sena disappear back into his room. 

"That's it!" Sena breathes a sigh of relief. "If I stay at home sick, then I can try to fix this today!" Glancing back at himself sleeping happily, he quickly bolts down the stairs, making a run for the door. As his Dad runs past him to get upstairs, he quickly leaps from the back porch, scrambling up a tree and then leaping down from the fence around his house, he makes for Monta's place.

As he stands in front of Monta's house, he realizes that despite the fact he's kept his intelligence and his speed, he's now far too short to ring the doorbell, and all he can do is meow as loud as possible. Feeling a little stupid, he continues yowling at the gate, pleading for Monta to emerge from the house.

"Geez, who's cat is this?" Sena's ears prick as he hears Monta emerging from his house, the door shutting behind him. As the gate swings open, Sena tries to explain what had happened to him, but Monta just sighs and crouches down by Sena as he begins to meow incoherently. "Yeah, yeah. What's up with you this morning?" Sena opens his mouth again, then sighs, ears drooping as Monta pats his head. 

"What do I do now..." Sena mopes as he crouches down on his front paws too, resting his head on his paws. Monta cocks his head, staring at Sena as he rubs his chin. Sena perks up a bit as Monta looks like he's thinking hard.

"Yes! I knew our bond would be strong enough to get through...or something...But! You know, this is a shounen! Anything is possible through friendship!" Sena springs to his feet, meowing excitedly as Monta's eyes open, snapping his fingers.

"You look a bit like Sena." He scoops Sena up into his arms, then begins on his way to Sena's house. "Come on, let's go pick him up." Sena droops in Monta's arms, swinging back and forth as Monta jogs to Sena's.

"So this is what my life has come to..."

* * *

"Morning, Ms. Kobayakawa, Mr. Kobayakawa!" Monta shouts at the door, Sena-Pitt in tow. Sena's mom opens the door, rubbing her ears, then gives a small smile to Monta, shaking her head.

"Sena is sick today, so he won't be attending school or clubs. Pass that along to your friends as well, will you?" Monta raises his eyebrows as Ms. Kobayakawa notices Pitt-Sena. "Oh, Pitt! Where did you run off to?" Monta glances down at him, then passes Sena-Pitt to Ms. Kobayakawa.

"So this is Sena's cat! He was meowing at my door like crazy this morning. I guess it's true what they say about pets and their owners!" Ms. Kobayakawa nods, suppressing with all her might a monkey joke."Tell Sena I hope he gets better soon." Monta glances at the door, then nods solemnly towards the house, whispering a prayer. "And good luck." Sena hangs his head in his mom's grasp, shivering as he thinks of Hiruma again. He needed to fix this as soon as possible, otherwise he might not have a body to return to. 

His mom sets him down in the dining room, and he trots upstairs to check in on himself. Pitt-Sena is fast asleep, snoring quietly, but when he approaches himself, he can tell he definitely has a fever. 

"Is this luck or something?" He whispers, thinking back to yesterday. 

"Move it shrimp! The game doesn't stop for rain! Ya-ha!" Hiruma's calls pass through his mind, and he sighs. A lucky coincidence really saved him this time. He pats himself on the head, then glances around the room. The window is cracked open to let some air in, thank god, and he leaps from floor to the windowsill, then from the window to the ground, landing softly. He glances around, then makes for Deimon High.

* * *

Sena pads up to the closed school gate, easily stepping through the gaps between the iron bars and into the school. He quickly darts onto the football field, glancing around for someone, anyone. It was completely empty, and as he glanced up at the clock, which read 8:57, he sighed. Of course no one would be out here. At a loss for what to do, he trotted up to the clubhouse, prodding the doorknob with his tiny paws until it swung open to reveal-

"Hahh?"

"Haaahhhh?"

"HAAAHHHHH?" Sena lets out a squeak and flinches hard, flying into the air, tail bristled, as he is greeted by Jumonji, Kuroki, and Togano's faces all sneering at him. As he goes to back out of the clubroom, head bowed, Jumonji grunts, peeling open a melon pan wrapper.

"What, it's just a cat?" Sena glances back down at himself, then relaxes, taking one cautious step forward. The Huh-Huh brothers were surprisingly reliable, after all. Kuroki approaches him, then crouches down with his hand outstretched. Sena walks forwards, and Kuroki pats his head, grinning.

"Hey, he's pretty cute!" Kuroki scratches under Sena's chin, and he begins purring, stretching his neck out. 

"This is pretty..." Sena thinks, eyes closing as he enjoys the sensation of being pet. Kuroki stands up, stretching, and Sena quickly snaps out of it, shaking his head. "No! NO! You're getting distracted, Sena, focus!" Sena mentally slaps himself, trotting up to Jumonji. He leapt from the ground to the table in front of him, meowing urgently. 

"Shoo, you're in the way." Jumonji grunts, flapping a hand at Sena while he flips through his Jump. Sena meows at him again, pacing the table in front of him as he reaches a paw out towards Jumonji.

"Dude, pet him. I think he wants it." Togano nudges Jumonji, gesturing at Sena, who could almost cry in frustration now. Jumonji rolls his eyes as he finishes off his melon pan, then extends a hand towards Sena.

"No-" Sena meows again, but as Jumonji's rough hand scratches his neck, he begins purring loudly, rolling over onto his back. "Stop-" Jumonji scoffed, scratching his stomach now as Sena's eyes opened and closed in bliss, Jumonji's hand running all over his body.

"Wow, he is pretty cute." Togano agrees, watching Sena purr and wiggle in Jumonji's grasp. The Jump now set on the table, Sena in Jumonji's arms, a small smile rose on his face.

"A little..." Jumonji mumbled as he continued to pet him, Sena's eyes finally fluttering to a close, fully relaxed in Jumonji's muscular arms.

Sena is abruptly woken when one of the Huh-Huh brothers, Togano, he thinks sleepily, makes another remark, flipping through the pages of a Magazine.

"You know, this cat looks a bit like Sena, huh? Maybe that's why you like him so much." Sena is jerked in Jumonji's arms as he springs to his feet, sputtering loudly.

"You- what-no-" Jumonji spits, Kuroki and Togano making their way out of the clubroom. 

"I'm going for another melon pan."

"I'm going for another Magazine." They call after themselves, the clubroom door shutting Jumonji and Sena inside, alone. Jumonji stares down at Sena, face burning red as he pats his head a few more times. Sena blinks slowly, then yawns, then blinks a few more times.

"Wait-" He quickly sits up a little in Jumonji's arms as he bends over the table, facing downwards. He strokes Sena's neck as he sits there, forehead pressed against table, cheeks burning red.

"...eyes are exactly like his. Big and round..." He mumbles, the flush spreading down towards his neck. Sena watches, wide eyed as the scarred delinquent who bullied him for so long blushes at the thought... of him?

Sena meows softly, settling back down in Jumonji's arms. A little longer wouldn't hurt.

* * *

A few hours later, Sena’s woken by the door banging open loudly, Kurita entering the club room chattering about Karyia’s latest cream puff flavor, Monta and Suzuna in tow. Jumonji jolts out of the chair, Sena dropping to the floor with a soft squeak. Suzuna pushes past Kurita, squinting at the ground, where Sena is crouched, then back up at Jumonji, who's face is bright red.

"Is that..." She squints at the ground again, seemingly seeing past Pitt's cute face, and Sena's heart jumps with hope as she breaks out into a grin. 

"Pitt!" Monta shouts before Suzuna can speak. "How'd you get out of Sena's house and all the way over here?" He holds a hand out to Sena, who sighs deeply, or would have if he was human right now. He didn't know what he was thinking, expecting someone to recognize him as Sena, when he wasn't even human yet. He glances back at Jumonji, who looks relieved that no one seemed to notice him cuddling Sena-Pitt a few seconds earlier.

"Sena's cat, huh? Wow, pets really do look like their owners." Kurita comments, cramming a cream puff into his mouth. Sena sighs (mentally) again. But everyone kept on saying that! Maybe someone would eventually connect the dots? Also, did Pitt really look like him? To the point where everyone was saying it. He glanced at his reflection in the bottom of a mirrored slot machine, looking closely at Pitt. Big, brown, round eyes, small frame, even some strange brown markings on his head reminiscent of his own hair. 

Sena feels like Pitt didn't look like this before. Maybe it was an effect of him switching bodies? Before he can think too much about it, a blast blows the door of the clubroom down for the third time this month. 

"Where the fuck is the little shrimp?" Hiruma cackles, brandishing an absurd amount of guns, so many Sena was afraid his slender body would snap under the weight. But somehow, it never did. But this was no time to be wondering where Hiruma stored all his muscles, as he pointed a rifle towards Sena-Pitt, who quickly jumped, landing in Mamori's arms, who had just stepped through the busted door.

"Pitt!" She gasps, surprised, but clutches him protectively to her chest. "You leave him alone, this is Sena's cat!" She takes hold of a broom, quickly getting into a defensive position. 

"Cat?" Hiruma glances closer, then clicks his tongue. "Looks like the fucking midget too." 

"You too, Hiruma?" Sena can feel another piece of his pride snap off and crumble. To think that the person who held the moniker "Eyeshield 21" was being compared to a housecat... Sena apologized in advance for all the future Eyeshield 21s. "I've disgraced them..." He thinks, letting out a pitiful meow. 

"Sena's sick today. Ms. Kobayakawa told me he passed out on the stairs and is running a high fever. He must have caught a cold yesterday." Monta reports, pulling his uniform out of his locker. "We'll have to go to the practice match without him today." Hiruma clicks his tongue again, then whips a phone from his back pocket. 

"No need. We're postponing it, so prepare for practice." He snaps the phone shut with finality, then hoists his guns over his shoulder. "Are you idiots deaf? Now! And manager, go find the others!" As the Devilbats duck under the spray of bullets, Sena wiggles out of Mamori's arms, slithering behind a slot machine. 

To think that Hiruma would postpone a practice match... it was uncharacteristic of him, Sena thought as he watched his teammates scramble to get changed and dash out of the clubroom. As it empties out, Hiruma sets his guns down, scribbing something on a note pad. 

"It must have been the rain...fucking shrimp still has a weak body, I see." He mutters under his breath, then jams the scrap of paper into his back pocket, leaving for the locker room. Sena waits for Hiruma to leave the clubroom, then slowly creeps out from behind the slot machine. What was on the paper?

After dawdling around for a bit, unsure of what to do, Sena decided to leave the clubroom and head out to the football field. Practice was in full swing, the gridiron full of shouts and calls. As Hiruma lined up the members for the 40 yard dash, he turned to Mamori for a second, handing her something. He whispered in her ear, and with Sena's new cat like senses, he picked up,

"Fucking shrimp...buy...sick...recover by tomorrow...kill..." Sena shivered as the last word hissed out of Hiruma's mouth. But Mamori said nothing to defend Sena, and simply nodded, tucking whatever it was Hiruma handed her into her tracksuit. Hiruma, picking up his rifle, then jogged to the starting line and sent Yukimitsu off with a rifle blast and a,

"YA-HA!"

* * *

After sticking around a few minutes more, Sena decided to leave. No one here had yet figured it out. He wasn't sure of what to do or who to go to. In the first place, this was completely unprecedented! Like out of some kind of cartoon, or something. Glancing up at the clock, which read 5:54, he sat down, resting his legs. What to do? Where to go? What was going to happen to him? Sena let out a long, low, meow, pitiful as can be, and glanced up at the sky. Was he going to live the rest of his life like this? If he was he at least wanted to see Shin one last time... 

"Shin!" Sena sprung to his feet and took off running down the road, as fast as Pitt's little white paws could take him down to the train station. He slipped in under the ticket gates and leapt on to a train, a train bound towards Shin. He might be able to recognize him! 

And so Sena sat on the train, a little brown and black and white cat, heading towards Oujou High. 

As the train doors opened, Sena sped out of the carriage, dashing towards those school gates that looked more like a castle's front yard, little cat feet carrying Sena all the way towards the football field. Rain pattered down on the ground as he sped through the gate and up the marble stairs. The lights were already off, and the school was dark, save for the gym, where Sena knew he would be. Speeding towards the door of the training room, Sena thanked God the door was already propped open, and dashed into the fluorescent light lit room, running into-

"A cat!" Sakuraba, the blond haired receiver scooped Sena up from the ground, holding him out to Takumi, who was wiping the sweat off his face. "Who's cat do you think this is?" Sena wiggled in his grasp as Sakuraba stroked Sena's head, grinning. 

"Check the collar. Maybe it's written on there." Takumi shrugs, picking up his weight. "Strange cat, to be running into a gym this late." Sena meowed desperately, and Sakuraba set him down, glancing at his nametag.

"Kobayakawa... Eyeshield's cat." Sena glanced around the room, looking for Shin, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was he at home? No way, Shin trained longer and harder than anyone else. He wouldn't be leaving before Takumi and Sakuraba. But where was he? Sena glanced around the room, looking for something to help him communicate with the Oujou players, when he spotted a towel with Shin's name embroidered on it. Dashing up to the towel, he anxiously pawed at the cloth, meowing as loud as he could.

"What's up with the cat?" Takumi set his weights down, standing up from the bench. "What's he got against Shin's towel?" Sakuraba glances closer at Sena, who is desperately pawing at Shin's name now.

"Please understand me!" Sena prayed, as Sakuraba suddenly clapped his hands together. 

"Ah, maybe he's looking for Shin?" Sena nearly cried with relief, butting his head against Sakuraba's ankle as he purred contentedly. "I'll take that as a yes. You know what they say, pets are really like their owners, huh?" He patted Sena's head, setting Shin's towel on the ground. 

"This again?" Sena internally groaned, staring up at the blonde as he grinned at Takumi.

"They both like Shin, don't they?" Sena's jaw drops open as he freezes in place, and if his skin wasn't covered by fur, he was sure he would be entirely red now. He wished that Sakuraba had just said that they looked like each other. But he didn't have any time to think about that, as Shin entered the gym, soaked through from the rain. 

"Sakuraba. Takumi." He quietly greeted them, reaching for his towel right next to Sena. Then after about a second of squinting, he tilted his head, and asked, "Kobayakawa?"

Sena nearly cried with relief as he instantly nestled up to Shin's leg, purring loud enough for everybody in the gym to hear. He knew it! He knew Shin would know.

"Yeah, his cat!" Sakuraba laughed at the sight of the tiny and cute Sena-Pitt curled up next to the big and burly Shin. Shin cocked his head the other way, raising an eyebrow, and repeated,

"Kobayakawa."

"Yeah, his cat." Sakuraba repeated, confused.

"No, Kobayakawa. The person." Shin peeled his t-shirt off his back, drying himself off. Now it was Sakuraba's turn to cock his head.

"But that's a cat?"

"No, that's Eyeshield." Shin repeated, pulling on a dry shirt, and taking his pants off. "I can see it in his muscles."

"Muscles? Of a cat?" Now it was Takumi's turn to cock his head. Sena glanced down at his body. Much like the new brown stripes and the brown eyes, did that also change? And how amazing was Shin's muscle vision to spot his muscles even as a cat?

"Yes. I will take Kobayakawa home. Good work today." Shin bowed to both Sakuraba and Takumi, then scooping Sena-Pitt into his arms, grabbed an umbrella from the basket by the door. Sakuraba and Takumi both stare at the door, then at each other, then at the door again.

"Huh." They both speak in unison.

* * *

Shin's arms were warm and comforting. Sena wanted to stay wrapped up in them forever. 

"So. A cat?" Shin asks as he walks to the train station, glancing down at Sena-Pitt, who is curled up tightly in the crook of Shin's elbow. "I do suppose the smaller build would allow you to slip past blockers easily. And your speed is surely increased now..." Shin muttered to himself, ever fixated on American football. Sena grinned a bit, glancing up at the black haired line backer, and opened his mouth to explain his situation. 

"Meeeeooww." Sena slumped back into Shin's arms as he's reminded again of his plight. Even though Shin had recognized him, that didn't mean that he could talk now. Sena glanced back up at Shin, who nodded solemnly.

"We should run back to your house. Excellent idea, Eyeshield. I see you haven't been slacking on training either." Shin set Sena on the ground, much to Sena's dismay, then closed his umbrella, gripping it tightly in his hand. But despite the fact he was no longer warm and dry in Shin's arms, and that the rain was coming down even harder, Sena couldn't help but feel happy and light as the two of them took off into the darkening sky.

The sun had set by the time they reached Sena's street, the two of them jogging down to the house marked "Kobayakawa". Sena, now soaked, shook himself off, but to no avail. Shin was the same as well, reaching down for Sena-Pitt. Sena hopped back into Shin's arms, pawing at his wet snout. Shin rang the doorbell, and Sena's mom answered, a surprised gasp leaving her lips as she looked the pair up and down.

"Ah, Shin? And Pitt? What are you two doing together?" She quickly ushered the two in, snatching a towel from the table behind her. "Come on, get in! It's going to storm soon! Did you two run here or something?" She bombarded them with questions as Shin dried off best he could with the towel, Sena shivering from the rain. 

"Yes, we ran." Shin answered shortly, drying his hair off. "I found Sena- er, Pitt at Oujou, so I thought I should bring him back to you." Shin cleared his throat, gesturing at the cat.

"Oh, well, that was very kind of you!" Ms. Kobayakawa covered her mouth, then quickly shouted down the hallway, "Honey! Run Shin and Pitt a bath, they'll catch cold if they stay wet!"

"No need. I'll head back home now-" Shin turned to excuse himself, but his arm is caught by Ms. Kobayakawa, who shakes her finger at him.

"Absolutely not! Sena has already caught a cold, I'll not have you catch one too! Now go, I'll bring you some clothes." Sena watches as Shin is quickly ushered into the bathroom, and his mom reaches for him. "Oh, look at you! Poor thing, let's get you dry again."

One rough towel drying and hair-well, fur blowdrying session later, Sena stumbles out of his mother's grasp and into the living room, where Shin stands awkwardly, towel wrapped around his waist. Sena freezes in place, eyes doing an up and down over Shin's abs. And then another up and down as he thanked God that he was covered in fur right now. 

"Ms. Kobayakawa-" He hesitantly calls, answered by the pattering of Sena's mom's footsteps rushing down the stairs. 

"Here are some of my husband's old clothes, I hope you don't mind!" Sena's mom rushes into the room, holding a bundle of clothes. "I hope they fit you alright, the men in our family are rather small compared to you..." She trails off as she quickly glances Shin's torso, then coughs into her fist. "Anyways, I'll set out a futon for you in the living room. I would have had you stay in Sena's room," 

Sena squeaks at the thought, crouched behind a chair as his mom continues to ramble,

"But he's sick, and the last thing I want is for you to catch a cold too." She falters as she realizes Shin is still half naked, and quickly turns to leave, snatching Shin's neatly folded wet clothes from the table. "I'll leave you to get dressed!" Shin glanced down at the t-shirt he held in his hands, obviously a size or two too small for him. Sena snorted as he wiggled into the shirt, shoulders almost bursting through the sleeves. Then glances down at the sweatpants, which thankfully seemed to be alright. They must have been Sena's dad's friend's, or something. Shin pulls them, along with a pair of new underwear from the conbini down the street, on, and neatly folds the towel he was wearing around his waist and sets it on the table. He glances around the room, eyes settling on Sena-Pitt, then beckons him over. 

"What should I do now?" Shin whispers as Sena instinctively butts his head against Shin's hand. Sena squeezes his eyes shut, thinking that if he thinks hard enough, Shin might just catch his brain waves, or something. Yeah. Maybe. Shin just scratches Sena's chin, and he begins to purr loudly. 

"Stop!" Sena shouts at himself internally as he flops over onto his side. "Focus! We need to fix this by today!" Springing to his feet, he dashes up the stairs, turning his head and calling Shin with a,

"Meeoow!" as he pushed open the door to his room with his paw. Shin followed after him, excusing himself as he pushed the door open a little wider.

"Shin! Sena's still in there, are you sure you want to go in there?" Ms. Kobayakawa called after them, a laundry basket in her hands. Shin nods, turning towards her.

"I've never gotten a cold before. And I want to check up on him." She covered her mouth with a hand, eyes wide, as she looked at Shin again. Could he- Was this-

Sena shook his head vigorously as he saw his mom's eyes start to sparkle. He knew once he was back in his body she was going to grill him for this. Sena's mom nodded, a smile splitting her cheeks as she patted Shin's shoulder. 

"Well, be careful, sweetie. I'm so glad Sena has a friend like you." Sena let out a sigh of relief as the word "friend" passed her lips. He was still in the clear. With a quick,

"Pardon the intrusion," Shin entered Sena's room. Sena's room. His room. Shin...in his room. SHIN WAS IN HIS ROOM-

Before Sena could do much panicking, Shin knelt by Pitt-Sena, who was still asleep but breathing a little harder than he was this morning. His cheeks were flushed, and a thin film of sweat clung to his forehead as he turned in his sleep. Shin quickly pressed a hand to Pitt-Sena's forehead, and Sena-Pitt felt a shiver run down his spine. 

"Not good. Kobayakawa, what should I do to fix this?" Shin turned to the little brown and black and white cat, a serious look on his face as he glanced back down at PItt-Sena, who coughed quietly. 

"Meow..." Sena racked his brains for what could have caused this, but he came up completely blank. This was a completely implausible scenario. What had he even done to deserve this? He sat, defeated, on the ground as he stared back at his human body. Shin also sat quietly, hand on his chin. 

"Do you remember doing anything yesterday?" Sena thought back to what had happened yesterday. Woke up, got dressed, went to school, got shot at, ate lunch with Monta and Suzuna, practiced, walked home, sneezed himself half to death, ate dinner, took a bath, did some homework, and went to bed. Just a usual day, minus the getting sick part. Shin furrowed his brows, looking back at Pitt-Sena sleeping. As Pitt-Sena rolled over again, his mouth was wide open, and he was breathing loudly.

"Ugh..." Sena thought to himself as he padded back over to his body, pushing his cheek in the other direction.

"No, wait. That might be it." Shin muttered, turning Sena's face back over. "Mother always used to tell me your soul could escape from your mouth, and that's why you need to keep it closed when you sleep, since that's the time your soul is most vulnerable." Turning back to Sena-Pitt, he picked him up by the armpits, staring into his eyes. "Did Pitt somehow get into your mouth?" Sena thought back to when he was almost drifting off last night, when Pitt suddenly smacked his mouth with his paw, then began to groom it, staring smugly at the groggy Sena. 

"You're kidding." Sena groaned, meowing affirmatively at Shin, who nodded solemnly.

"Mother always said sickness weakened the soul's grasp to the body as well. I guess your soul was barely attached to your body last night. You should take better care of yourself, Kobayakawa." Sena wilted under his criticism, letting out a low mew. Shin brought Sena- Pitt a little closer to his face, making Sena wriggle a little under his intense gaze. "I think this should be solved with ease. Your soul doesn't have a strong grip on this cat either then."

"How then?" Sena meowed, cocking his head as Shin suddenly drew near. 

"Your soul emerges from your lips," Shin pressed his lips on Sena's snout, then, setting him down, bent over Pitt-Sena's face. "And returns through them as well." Sena's heart nearly explodes out of his tiny ribcage as Shin presses his lips to his, no Pitt's, but they were his, but also that wasn't him right now, but-

"Shin..." Pitt-Sena murmurs as he draws back, an arm reaching out to grasp Shin's shirt. Sena nearly curls up and dies on the spot as he, or well, Pitt, balls his fist around the fabric. 

"I see you're still in there as well." Shin quietly notes, taking Pitt-Sena's hand off his shirt and into his own. Sena squeaks as he does so, fur bristling as he notices the slight red flush on Shin's cheeks. 

"Shin? I brought the futon-" Sena's mom peeks into the room, noting Sena's hand tightly intertwined with Shin's, and quickly sets the futon down next to Sena's. "Sleep well, you two." Sena and Shin watch as she leaves the room with a skip in her step, a muffled, "Honey! I think our son-" echoing from the master bedroom. 

Shin glances back at Sena-Pitt, then at Pitt-Sena, and makes himself comfortable in the futon. He extends an arm towards Sena-Pitt, who hesitantly joins them, wrapped in the warmth of both the blankets and Shin's body.

"Good night. See _you_ in the morning." Shin whispers, breathing evening out as Sena drifts off as well.


	2. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sena is now back in his body, free to talk with Shin as he wishes...

Sena blinked once, then twice as the sunlight streaming in from the windows woke him, yet again. As he tried to move to stretch, he noticed he was firmly pinned down by one Oujou linebacker, his hand firmly clutched in said linebacker's own hand, Pitt perched comfortably in between the two. He blinked once, then twice, brain buffering as he went through the whole situation.

"Shin is on top of me... we're holding hands... I _have_ hands... we're in the same futon now..." Sena blinked again, shaking his head as he focused on the _important_ part. "I HAVE HANDS!" Sena wiggled under Shin as a grin split his face. "Shin!" He whispered so as not to get caught by his mother in this compromising position. The black haired boy slowly opened his eyes, rolling off of Sena. Pitt opened his eyes and nimbly leapt away from the tangle of legs with a discontented meow.

"Kobayakawa. It is good to see you as yourself today." He replied, voice still husky with sleep. Sena was almost too excited, _almost_ , to notice just how sexy his voice sounded as he squeezed Shin's hand, happily flexing the other.

"It worked! How did you know it would work?" Sena stared at his arms and legs, so grateful that they were there, and he could move them, and that also he wasn't a cat anymore. Shin rubbed his face, slowly sitting up as he yawned.

"Didn't I explain that to you last night?" Sena continued beaming, wiggling his toes.

"To think it was because Pitt stuck his paw in my mouth..." Sena wrinkled his nose as he thought about what Pitt's paws had been in. "Anyways, it really was a lucky break that I thought of you."

"Yes..." The tiniest smile graced Shin's usually stoic face as Sena continued to celebrate. But as the initial giddiness wore off, Sena began to think about what happened last night. Namely, the kiss.

"Hey, if Pitt took my soul directly from my mouth the first time why was, uhm," Sena stammered, cheeks beginning to heat up again, "the, uh, indirect transfer necessary?" Shin stared at Sena blankly as he began to connect the dots, then as he did, he turned away from Sena, a hand over his mouth.

"...I wanted to do it." His reply was quiet and shy, the complete opposite of who Shin was. It was at this moment all the blood in Sena's body rushed to his face and neck, sending him flopping back onto his futon. It was also at this moment that he remembered he was still sick, and the room was spinning around him. "Sena!" Shin knelt over him, face concerned as Sena grinned tiredly. "Are you-" And in a lapse of good judgement, still hazy from his fever, Sena throws an arm around Shin's neck, locking his flushed lips with Shin's.

"And I wanted to do this..." Sena whispers in Shin's ear as he lets go, then passes out.

* * *

"Sena? Sena..." His mom's voice leaks into his sleep as he tosses and turns, sweaty and uncomfortable. He wakes up with a gasp as a cold cloth is pressed to his forehead.

"Mom?" Sena groans as he rolls over onto his side, then suppresses a high pitched squeak as he notices who is lying next to him, hand still tightly interlaced with his. He whips his head around towards his mom, face burning red as she suppresses a giggle. "Mom, this isn't-"

"I didn't know you and Shin were on such good terms! Look at you! First Mamori, then Suzuna, then this handsome young-" Sena cuts her off with a mortified groan as he buries his head into his pillow. He can see his mom formulating the love squares in her mind as she sets out a small table. "Anyways. Once Shin wakes up, you two can have lunch. And I also received a call from Hiruma, was it? Your team will be here soon to visit." With a hearty smack laid upon her son's back, she gives him a thumbs up. "Good luck, Sena! I believe in you!" 

"No-" Sena covered his face, screaming internally as his mom quickly dashed out of the room. Now awake and mostly clear of mind, he had lost all of the confidence and boldness he had in the morning, and felt just about ready to jump out his second story window. As he shook his head violently, Shin began to stir next to him.

"Uhn." He grunted as Sena quickly stilled, heart jackhammering away in his chest. He couldn't believe he did- _that_ \- before he passed out and went back to sleep. And were they still holding hands? THEY WERE STILL HOLDING HANDS-

"S-Shin! Uh-" Sena squawked, attempting to wiggle his hand out of Shin's, but to his surprise, Shin didn't let go. Rather, he held on tighter as he stretched, then glanced at Sena. As he did so, the tips of his ears flushed red. Sena's mouth fell open as he took in the sight of Shin in front of him, blushing. Shin. The Shin. Terror on the field, the monster Shin. 

"This is...nice." Shin murmured as he readjusted his hand on Sena's. Before Sena could even think, he smiled and replied,

"Yeah. It is." But before they could bask in the moment, the door to Sena's room slammed in with a bang! and a Ya-Ha!, and the Deimon Devilbats came flooding in the room.

"You'd better recover soon, shrimp, because you have hell to pay!" Hiruma cackled, a wicked grin on his face as his gum snapped loudly. "Skipping the practice match to shack up with the opposing linebacker?" He raised a finger at Shin, grin growing even wider, "Unforgivable!"

"S-Shack up?" Sena gulped as he glanced back at Shin, then the rest of his teammates making their way into his very cramped room. "No-no, you've got it-"

"Sena, you should have told me about Shin!" Suzuna sidles up to the brown haired boy, elbowing him in the side as she snickers. "I must say, I see you have good taste, eh, Sena?" She wiggles her eyebrows as Sena begins to panic even harder.

"Sena! I'm not really sure on what's happening, but I'll always support you MAX!" Monta pushes his way into the room, shooting Sena a thumbs up. "Also I brought you bananas to help you recover." As soon as he sets those down, Mamori enters the room, planting herself in front of Sena with her hands on her hips. She takes one breath in, and with a sonorous,

"Everyone OUT!" The commotion in the room pauses. "Sena needs to recover!" She shakes a broomstick at the team, frowning at them. "Shoo! Get out! You'll see him at school next week! Stop bothering him!" She shoves each and every last one of them out of the room until just Sena, Shin, Mamori, and Hiruma remain. 

"M-Mamori!" Sena stammers, noting that he and Shin are still very much cuddled up together and very much holding hands. "It's-" She cuts Sena off with a gentle smile, setting a bag from the conbini on the ground next to him. 

"You don't need to worry, Sena. We're with you all the way." Sena feels incredibly touched until she shoots a killer glare at Shin. "But if you ever hurt Sena, I swear, I'll-" Before she can finish her threat, Hiruma pushes her out of the room and shuts the door, unwrapping another stick of gum.

"Kekeke! I'm sure you get the image, Mr. Perfect. And you, Shrimp! Be recovered by tomorrow and prepare to die!" With an ominous cackle, Hiruma makes his way out of Sena's room, leaving behind a bottle of cold medicine. 

The room quiet, and the two of them now alone, Sena can hear his heart thumping in his ears. 

"Um-uh, sorry?" He squeaked out, scratching the back of his head as he fidgeted awkwardly, eyes locked on the ground. When he was met with silence, he quickly glanced up at Shin, expecting him to be angry, or sad or-

"What are you apologizing for?" Shin was right in front of him again, rough palm cupped around his cheek. His brown eyes locked with Sena's, and he kissed him again. Not as a cat, or as a cat in his body, or delirious from fever. Just Shin's lips on Sena's, their hands interlaced together, sat before each other in his room.

* * *

"Say, Hiruma, do you think Sena's in danger?" Mamori ran through all the things that could happen with that linebacker. He was much bigger and stronger than Sena, and- Mamori shivered at the thought. "After all, Shin-" 

"Kekeke! You don't need to worry about that. Sena isn't the virginal maiden you make him out to be, after all." Mamori whipped around, cheeks red as Hiruma blew a bubble, popping it loudly in her face. "Rather, I think it's Oujou who needs to watch out. After all, Sena can be assertive when the need arises." Hiruma quirks an eyebrow at Mamori, who just stands there, opening and closing her mouth. 

"Sena-Sena would never!" She gasped, holding her hands to her chest. "I need to go back there now-" But before she can turn around, Hiruma grabs her by the arm.

"He's not a kid anymore, shitty manager." Hiruma grins, tugging Mamori back to him. "And don't think I didn't notice. You were with Sena all last night and this morning, weren't you? You're looking a little feverish there, huh?" Mamori clapped a hand to her forehead, suddenly noticing a slight headache coming on.

"Absolutely not! This is just because of what you suggested-" She protests loudly, but quiets when Hiruma thrusts a bottle of medicine at her. 

"Drink this and go home, fucking manager. If you get sick too, this team will be in trouble." Mamori hesitantly takes the bottle from him, glancing down at it then Hiruma as he pops another bubble in her face. "You'd better hurry, otherwise what happened to Sena might happen to you too." Mamori sucked in a breath as the implications of what he said sank in, then turned on her heel, taking off towards her house.

"In your dreams, you demon!" She cried as she dashed down the roads, praying the flush on her cheeks came from her fever and physical exertion, and not from _him._

**Author's Note:**

> stay safe and thanks for reading! wash ur hands and wear a mask and stay inside and reread or watch eyeshield 21 for the fifteenth time!  
> *whoo some bullshitted lore about souls!


End file.
